Tissue penetration device

Abstract

A body fluid sampling system is provided for use on a tissue site. A drive force generator is coupled to penetrating members. The penetrating members are at least partially housed in a penetrating member housing. The penetrating member housing has openings for the penetrating members. The penetrating members are launched along a launch path by the drive force generator through an opening in the penetrating member housing. Analyte sensors are housed in a analyte sensor housing. Each analyte sensor is associated with a penetrating member. The analyte sensor housing and the penetrating member housing are coupled to provide that each analyte sensor is positioned out of a launch path of a penetrating member. The analyte sensor housing includes desiccant pockets for receiving desiccant plugs.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 758,774, filed Jan. 12, 2006. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 11 / 318,334, filed Dec. 22, 2005 now abandoned, which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 10 / 127,395, filed Apr. 19, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,774. All of the above-referenced applications are fully incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Technical Field[0003]The technical field relates to analyte sampling devices, and more specifically, methods and devices for storing analyte sampling and measurement devices in a safe, usable condition.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Lancing devices are known in the medical health-care products industry for piercing the skin to produce blood for analysis. Typically, a drop of blood for this type of analysis is obtained by making a small incision in the fingertip, creating a small wound, which generates a small blood droplet on the surface of the skin....

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018]Still another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable cartridge that measures analyte levels with improved humidity control.

[0020]A further object of the present invention is to provide a disposable cartridge that can reliably, repeatedly and painlessly generate spontaneous blood samples.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, the pain associated with each lancing event using known technology discourages patients from testing.

In addition to vibratory stimulation of the skin as the driver impacts the end of a launcher stop, known spring based devices have the possibility of firing lancets that harmonically oscillate against the patient tissue, causing multiple strikes due to recoil.

This recoil and multiple strikes of the lancet is one major impediment to patient compliance with a structured glucose monitoring regime.

When using existing methods, blood often flows from the cut blood vessels but is then trapped below the surface of the skin, forming a hematoma.

In either case, the lancing process cannot be combined with the sample acquisition and testing step.

Mechanical launchers are unlikely to provide the means for integrated sample acquisition and testing if one out of every two strikes does not yield a spontaneous blood sample.

The large number of steps required in traditional methods of glucose testing ranging from lancing, to milking of blood, applying blood to the test strip, and getting the measurements from the test strip discourages many diabetic patients from testing their blood glucose levels as often as recommended.

Another problem frequently encountered by patients who must use lancing equipment to obtain and analyze blood samples is the amount of manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination required to properly operate the lancing and sample testing equipment due to retinopathies and neuropathies particularly, severe in elderly diabetic patients.

For those patients, operating existing lancet and sample testing equipment can be a challenge.

This large blood requirement made the monitoring experience a painful one for the user since the user may need to lance deeper than comfortable to obtain sufficient blood generation.

Alternatively, if insufficient blood is spontaneously generated, the user may need to “milk” the wound to squeeze enough blood to the skin surface.

Neither method is desirable as they take additional user effort and may be painful.

The discomfort and inconvenience associated with such lancing events may deter a user from testing their blood glucose levels in a rigorous manner sufficient to control their diabetes.

A further impediment to patient compliance is the technique for storing these analyte sampling and analyte detecting devices.

The introduction of multiple storage devices and the cumbersome design may discourage users from keeping their equipment in a usable condition, further degrading user test compliance and measurement accuracy.

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